More Countryside

Some last pictures of the Tuacarembo/Valle Eden area.  All are very much countryside.

I have no idea what kind of bird it is, but it's surely pretty.

Wild turkeys!

Last Gaucho Festival Post

At least for this year, it is.  We've not decided if we're going next year yet.  This is a picture of one of the booths with stuff for sale.

This picture and the next are for Andreas' mother.  I know I wouldn't feel safe on these rides...

And a pet monk parakeet.  We get these in our back yard in the spring.

This is the lake in the middle of the festival grounds.  The main circuit goes all the way around it.  For some reason, it's called Washerwoman lake.

A back view of one of the permanent pavilions.

I thought the meal kits were kind of spiffy.

Beer for my Horses

Two special pictures from the Gaucho Festival.  When we saw the tableau, we thought of the Toby Keith song...

And washed to make them look even more like the song...

Lunch Time at the Gaucho Festival

Kids hanging out in period dress.  They look like they wear it daily.

Park your horse anywhere...

Entrance to one of the more permanent compounds in the festival area.

Cooking lunch on the parilla. 

Got knives?  We actually looked for some decent ones, but all of them are Chinese stamped steel with fancy hilts.  It seems that's all that is available here.

A different view of lunch.  Looks like pork.

Gaucho Festival Part 2 - So Authentic

Yup, laundry out right by the main circuit. 

And here is who was producing it!  Lots and lots of suds.  The festival went on for four days, so I suppose they had a lot to clean.

Children in traditional dress.  Obviously, they hated being there.

I asked for this picture of a saddle so you can see how different they are than the western and English saddles used here.  They put blankets atop it, and adjust in the middle for the horse.

Just riding down the main circuit.  Pedestrians made way for the horses.

For just this reason ... lots of horses passing through, some at a gallop, at the same time.  Miraculously, we saw no injuries while we were there.

Did I mention that they just parked the horses anywhere?

Gaucho Festival Saturday, March 8, 2010 - Part 1

Yup, there's no one stabling area for the horses and no fencing, so the horses are around everywhere at the festival.  It was a warm late summer day and gorgeous out. 

Did I mention the camping area for the participants runs through the festival?  I expect there were a lot of tents accidentally trampled by horses.

Almost all the women and girls were in these flowing dresses straight out of the nineteenth century.  They looked lovely on the horses. 

A bit more of the camping area here.  It looks about as organized as the Grandfather Mountain camping area did.

Riding is a family affair, and here's a girl in a male outfit!  All the horses looked in excellent condition, by the way, and some were absolutely beautiful.

Gathering around the parilla, Uruguay's version of barbecue.  They put on anything from ribs to whole pigs.

Sitting in one of the temporary shelters for participants on the grounds, gathered around and just talking. 

More Gaucho Festival Parade Pictures

This is the rest of the photos from the Gaucho Festival parade.  It was a very long parade.  The dogs in this top photo are what they use around here as cow dogs.  They've never heard of Sharrs, who would do so much more...

Gaucho Festival Parade Part 1

This parade reminded me of the Fort Worth Livestock Show parade - lots and lots of horses and people in nineteenth century garb.  Horses behaving, horses out of control, and a lot of manure on the ground.  It was fun to watch and reminded me of home.  Children as young as three were riding their own horses and the most frequent flag was "Libertad o Muerte", one any Texan could understand.  There were a lot of pictures, so I've divided it into two posts.  By the way, the correct name of the festival is Patria del Gaucho.